Reston Real Estate: Get to Know Bentana Woods

This is a sponsored post by Eve Thompson of Reston Real Estate. It does not reflect the views of Reston Now.

Many people don’t realize how close Reston is to the lovely Lake Fairfax Park. In fact, several Reston neighborhoods back up to the park. Bentana Woods is one of them.

The rustic nature around Bentana Woods will make you forget you live in a bustling area. Built in 1972 by Bennett of Virginia, this community is located in the Tall Oaks section of Reston.

I recently found the original marketing brochure, which was pretty entertaining. Some of the information is not relevant anymore — I assume most people have replaced the Formica-surfaced cabinet tops by now, and Lake Anne Elementary School has indeed been built.

However, some of the selling points are very much still selling points today (I edited some of these, but I really enjoyed the language… you can probably tell which bits are from the original):

Bentana Woods offers something special to the family that seeks the values of home ownership with a maximum of space and good design and a minimum of care and maintenance.

Influenced by California’s early Spanish missions, the design utilizes dark wood trim to give dramatic emphasis to exteriors of brick, stucco and wood.

Interior living spaces range from 2,120 to 2,515 square feet, for a total of nine floor plans. There are three- and four-bedroom models available, with 2.5 to 3.5 baths.

Garages and step-down living rooms are features in many models. Fireplaces are also included in many of them.

Kitchens have received special attention in Bentana Woods to give each family added ease and convenience. All kitchens open both to the dining room and family room to facilitate formal and informal entertaining in either.

That bane of townhouses — the dark stairway — doesn’t exist in Bentana Woods. Skylights or large doors and spacious bay windows also brighten dining rooms and family rooms, creating the feeling of breezy openness, and provide dramatic views of the rolling woodland.

All of these features are things my clients want in their homes. Bentana Woods is actually two separate clusters — Bentana Woods Cluster has 48 homes, while Bentana Woods West has 108 homes.

More than 50 percent of the neighborhood lands are common areas with open grass, tot lots, and stands of trees — trees that the National Wildlife Federation has certified as a Backyard Wildlife Habitat.

In addition, Bentana Woods is about one mile from the Wiehle-Reston East Metro Station. The location is fantastic, which makes the fact that these townhouses are charming and well designed even better.

If you want to be close to the action, but feel like you’re living in a National park, Bentana Woods is the Reston neighborhood for you!

You shouldn’t assume. This is Reston. More likely than not there are a bunch of units without a single upgrade, filled with junk, unkempt exteriors, Oldsmobuick parked in the lot, dragging down the value of the entire cluster.